Another week spent in El Salvador has left us all exhausted,
so we did one of the most important things we could today, rest. That’s right, rest.
This week was full of adventures, God working in this community, and stretching
our flexibility, as usual. We had a slightly smaller group but everyone stayed
busy and in good spirits. Who could ask for anything more?
Lets talk about flexibility. We had our usual plan of what
we wanted to have accomplished by the end of the week. This included all the
usual Vacation Bible School, guys and girls Bible studies, laying sheetrock
inside the duplex, framing walls, windows, doors, and probably a few more
things I can’t think of at the moment. Midway through the week we were doing
our guys and girls Bible studies and we heard a huge crash. One of the mango
trees decided to break off a limb and drop it partially on the main building.
When I say tree I mean a 50-60 foot tree.
More unexpected things, as I was writing this I was needed
in the bottom floor in the new SHIP Shop because water was coming into the
office area. The drain had become partially blocked by a bunch of leaves from
that same mango tree. All better now.
Back to the mango tree. Needless to say, this marked the end of our Bible studies for the night. We assessed the damage and nothing major had happened to the building. We could
see where the main part of the branch had landed on a beam of the roof. It
would have punched a hole in the roof if it had landed in another spot. Praise
God the damage was minimal! We had to divert several of the workers to removing
the damaged parts of the tree as well as the overhanging limbs. God provided
help for what was needed and we still managed to make great progress on all the
other projects. Also there were a couple men from the neighborhood who came and
donated their time to work on a septic tank for the new building.
Back to the Bible study that got interrupted. We were
walking through the life of Abram, around the part where he becomes Abraham,
when the tree limb fell. The next day we picked up where we left off, but had a
few more people who had not been the day before. At the end of our Bible study,
a man who had been invited and brought his two sons told us that he had been
asking God for a group of men he could join and bring his sons to. He mentioned
he did not know a lot about God or the Bible, and I’m not really sure what his
beliefs are, but it was clear that God had orchestrated the situation. I
believe that God used the tree limb to interrupt our Bible study to allow for
that man to bring himself and his sons to our group. I would ask you to pray
for him and his sons, that they would continue to come and would come to know
Jesus, and if they know Him that they would grow a stronger relationship with
God and with our group. And I would encourage you to look at your own
situations in a way that you ask how you can point others to God in your
situation. God will make Himself known.
Be Joyful,
Ryan Green
Along with all the flexibility, there was a lot of fun being
had. I even got to braid some hairs and strum on a guitar. Here are a few
pictures to enjoy…
Just undid my braids
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